Merry Christmas

Mike on Christmas, heck make that Mike all Christmas break. William on Christmas morning.

Mike and Pat in a dessert competition.
William deciding the winner.

We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner at Chilis (don't ask, no one knows how these "traditions" start) and then drove around looking at Christmas lights. Christmas day was pretty quiet, filled with presents, Christmas Story nonstop on the TV, and relaxing. We had a "traditional" ham dinner. The menu was planned by William and executed by me. For dessert there was a competition between Pat's famous Bananas Foster and Mike's not-so-famous Brownie Batter. The Judge was William and while he had a hard time picking a winner, he eventually went with the bananas foster as that was the dessert on his dinner menu.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Chihuly at the Garden

A cloudy Sunday morning was spent at the Desert Botanical Gardens enjoying their newest exhibit - Chihuly: The Nature of Glass. We first saw his work at Garfield Park Conservatory in 2001 and I was totally amazed by his talent, so when I saw there would be an exhibit here I quickly renewed our membership to the Gardens so we would not miss out on seeing it. It is truly something that cannot be described and has to be experienced firsthand. I am sure that before it leaves here the end of May, I for one will be visiting the Gardens a few more times. I will definitely be doing a night tour, as the pieces will be illuminated and I can only imagine how cool that will be. Each of the pieces are designed to blend in with the landscaping and look almost a part of it. The Desert Botanical Gardens is such a peaceful place to begin with, the glass exhibit has enhanced the natural beauty and makes it somewhere you just want to sit and reflect. If you are coming out west to visit us this winter you can be assured that a trip to the Garden will be on my list of things you must do.

Just for Fun - I am a Marilyn!

You Are a Marilyn!

You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Be direct and clear
• * Listen to me carefully
• * Don't judge me for my anxiety
• * Work things through with me
• * Reassure me that everything is OK between us
• * Laugh and make jokes with me
• * Gently push me toward new experiences
• * Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn

• * being committed and faithful to family and friends
• * being responsible and hardworking
• * being compassionate toward others
• * having intellect and wit
• * being a nonconformist
• * confronting danger bravely
• * being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn

• * the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
• * procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
• * fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
• * exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
• * wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
• * being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often

• * are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
• * are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
• * form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
• * look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
• * are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents

• * are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
• * are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
• * worry more than most that their children will get hurt
• * sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at

Day of the Dead

Pat, William and I attended the Dia de los Muertos Festival in Mesa on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Wikipedia explains the holiday better than I ever could:

The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos in Spanish) is a holiday celebrated mainly in Mexico and by people of Mexican heritage (and others) living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died. The celebration occurs on the 1st and 2nd of November, in connection with the Catholic holy days of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day which take place on those days. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

There were public altars for local people to bring in candles and other remembrances of their friends and relatives, then there were altars inside the Arts Center that were done for a contest of famous and not-so-famous people. There were quite a few different performances going on during the day, a market where you could buy Day of the Dead figurines and other arts and crafts, William made his own sugar skull and then there were the four performers who had on masks and carried poles and scattered amongst the crowd creeping up on people and scaring them, much to my amusement. All in all it was a very interesting and fun day.

Halloween 2008

Football Player by Day, Rich Man by Night. So went Halloween 2008. Enough said.

The Art of Moving Teeth

I am amazed at how the teeth can be moved around to reach a desired effect. Mike's right front tooth use to turn and was overlapping his left front tooth. It only took two weeks with a palate expander in his mouth to achieve the gap that is shown in the first picture. Maybe I am easily impressed, but when we left the office after the palate expander had been put in place and I was told that he would probably have a space when we came back two weeks later, I was very skeptical. But sure enough two weeks later the huge gap between his teeth emerged. Mike got his braces on four weeks later and it has been two weeks and his teeth already seem to be moving. The gap does not appear as big. I can't wait to see the end results, which will take about two years, a lot of discomfort for Mike and monthly payments from me. It will all be worth in in the end I am sure, when his smile is even more dazzling that it is now.

Basketball Season Begins

Basketball season has started for William. I am pretty sure that this child was born dribbling a basketball. He loves the game and loves to play, so we are all very excited that basketball time has begun again. When he is playing, he is totally into the game, his concentration is intense and he plays his absolute best at all times. I love watching how much he loves playing. So far there have been two games and his team has won both of them. There is some stiff competition out there, but I am confident that he will hold his own on the court.

Note: I apologize for the not so great photos, however, I am working on my lighting and trying to capture a moving object, so be patient with me, by the end of the season I hope to have some pretty fantastic photos.